after all, while becoming the first man to win best actor three times, he's like the actor's actor. >> he really could play margaret thatcher, technically, though. i thought in a lot of ways the oscars was like the tonys. there's so much singing and dancing. i love a song and dance, so i liked it, but it made for some criticism too. >> that les mis moment was pretty spectacular. >> it got a standing ovation. i was thrilled to see it. it was packaged so well. we normally see clip packages, heavy, heavy on clips at the oscars. they tossed those out and gave us wall to wall entertainment, and it was great. >> entertainment with a capital "e" at the oscars. >> and the hilarious loser. some of seth's songs were just bad and wrong, and some were pretty funny and well done. let's listen to the loser song, which is how he wrapped up the night and we'll wrap up the show this morning. >> here's to the losers. >> yes, the losers. ♪

>> "argo," man, come on. >> we love that "argo." >> we do. this is a long opening. >> it's a long one. ♪ here's to all the losing works of art ♪ ♪ from lincoln to amour ♪ to the disappointed actors wondering what they dressed up for ♪ ♪ now the real performance starts with phony smiles ♪ >> it was cute. it was funny. >> just cut it off and rush it out. they did the entertainment well. >> somebody said to me, it's the first time i've laughed that hard at the oscars in a really long time. >> he made it a show. very different. new producers, new host. i thought they did a good job. thanks, guys. i certainly appreciate you joining us for our special edition of "starting point." "cnn newsroom" with carol costello begins right now. we'll see everyone back here tomorrow.

happening now in the "newsroom," the clock is ticking. >> it's a terrible way to cut spending. >> food safety inspectors, air traffic controllers, teachers all staring down as the budget cut looms. >> they're inflicting more pain on the middle class. >> the president should be calling us. plus tires flying, an engine in flames, 21 fans injured, yet the daytona 500 races on. >> i just want to reiterate how important our fans are to us as we continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers. >> seven people still in the hospital, and track safety questions remain unanswered. also, emergency operations are activated as a life-threatening blizzard hits the plains again. and "argo" takes home the oscar. >> i think everyone in the movie, worked on the movie, was in the movie, everyone involved with the movie gets thanks. and seth macfarlane, the best or boob? the speeches, the dresses, even

the fall. >> what went through my mind when i fell down? a bad word that i can't say. >> you're live in the "cnn newsroom." good morning. thank you so much for being with me this monday morning. i'm carol costello. we begin this morning with new ripples of a sex scandal jolting the vatican and the final days of pope benedict's rule. this morning the vatican says he has accepted the resignation of scotland's archbishop. cardinal keith o'brien has been dogged by accusations he abused four men in the 1980s, all of those men studying to become priest. this as pope benedict delivered his final public prayer ceremony and accusation that a scandal may have prompted the first papal resignation in 600 years. cnn's ben wedeman looks at the

explosive claims thundering through the vatican. >> reporter: reports broke in two leading italian publications suggests his reason for resigning was far more explosive. shock at the discovery of a network of gay priests at the vatican blackmailed by a network of male prostitutes. according to the reports, the results of an investigation by three cardinals assigned to look into wrongdoing at the vatican were submitted to pope benedict on december 17th last year. the report suggests that serious improprieties within the vatican amounted to violations of sixth and seventh commandments, thou shalt not steal and thou shalt not commit adultery. pope benedict was so shocked by the allegations, he decided to resign. it follows with

uncharacteristically strong language saying these "unverifiable or completely false news stories caused serious damage to persons and institutions and are an attempt to use public opinion to influence the cardinals' free will in the election of a new pope." cardinal depaulis will take part at that election in the conclave and stresses caution. we cannot say things that are only guesswork or imagination are true, he told me. these are not true, and these allegations only serve to create a climate of division that helps no one. but cnn vatican analyst john allen sniffs some truth in the allegations. >> to date, none of us have actually seen the secret report delivered by the three cardinals to benedict xvi, so it's impossible to say precisely what it contains. on the other hand, the core claim of this story that the cardinals looked into the possibility that there might be a network of gay clergy inside

the vatican who were vulnerable to pressure, to me, that passes the smell test. >> reporter: there may indeed be something rotten in the state of the vatican. ben wedeman, cnn, rome. >> so let's bring in our senior vatican analyst john allen. just so many ugly things coming out. how can they possibly choose someone who's untainted to be the new pope? >> carol, i think you put your finger on it. prior to the scandals erupted, the cardinals had a long checklist of things they were looking for in terms of the new pope. somebody who could take the church's message to the world, somebody who could inspire faith among the 1.2 billion catholics around the world, but in the wake of everything's that's happened in the last 72 hours or so, quite clearly a new item on the list, which is they want to pick somebody who's got clean hands, who is not carrying baggage.

>> i'm not kidding about that. >> unfortunately, among the 115 people that are going to be in the sistine chapel, there aren't going to be any nuns, carol. that's the problem. >> john allen reporting live from the vatican this morning. let's head to washington, where the clock is ticking and the hopes of avoiding forced spending cuts are fading fast. the white house turning up the heat on republican lawmakers by showing everyday americans how the impact would hit their state. take ohio, for instance. the white house says it will lose more than $25 million in funding for primary and secondary education. in texas, defense cuts could force more than 50,000 civilian employees to be furloughed. and even victims of domestic violence won't be protected from the automatic slashing of federal spending. the white house says pennsylvania, for example, would lose more than $250,000, costing

domestic violence services to some 1,000 victims. our top washington correspondent joins us now. jake, a lot of us are shrugging this off, saying this is standard operating procedure, it's brinksmanship, none of these cuts are going into effect because at the very last minute, as always, lawmakers will manage to come up with a deal or kick the can down the road. >> reporter: i don't know if that's the case this time, carol, i have to say. first of all, as we've had a few of these situations where these horrible deadlines are coming. we've seen what's happened is, as we've gone in time, we've actually found that congress is very good at hitting the deadlines and not making what needs to be done. we saw that with the sequester cuts and the bush tax cuts of december 31st, january 1st. remember we did not make that deadline. for this one, i have to say, both sides seem relatively

pessimistic that anything is going to be accomplished. that's not to say there's not some secret talk going on between the vice president's office and either mitch mcconnell or eric cantor in the house. but right now people i speak to, informed sources, say they expect these cuts will, in fact, take effect on march 1st. >> maybe congress needs a nun too. i'm just kidding. we hear about these forced cuts, and i just enumerated some of them. congress says these cuts are exaggerated. is there any way to really know? >> reporter: i think most of them are not exaggerated, but some of them seem to be. most of them are just factual. these cuts, remember, were designed to never take effect. they were supposed to be a threat. they were created to be as draconian and unappealing as possible. so most of the threat is real. on the other hand, for instance, when the defense -- i'm sorry. when the transportation secretary, ray lahood, was out there talking about all the long lines that were going to take

effect and such and all the cutbacks to the federal aviation administration, it is an inconvenient truth that, even with the cuts, the budget next year will be bigger than the budget next year. some of this seems designed to have a scare factor. for the most part, i think the threats are very real. >> i know you're on tap for a long, long week. jake tapper, thanks so much. a new winter storm bearing down on the plains could be worse than last week's storm. blizzard warnings up in four states. kansas already has activated its emergency operations center because some areas could see one to two feet of snow. keep in mind many people in the region are still digging out from a massive storm that hit them just four days ago. this new storm has already left colorado after dumping more than a foot of snow. cnn's jim spellman is live in denver this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. this was the storm that would not end all day yesterday. hour after hour the snow came

down. they're digging out now. crews out all night getting the roads clear. they're doing pretty good. you can see the main arteries are flowing pretty well. it's a different story on a lot of the side streets. take a look over here. they've already plowed here several time. there's this layer of ice under the snow. it's very rare in denver, even though you don't get a lot of snow to plow the side streets this year because of this ice, he's got 120 pickup trucks to get the residential streets cleared out. usually, we get that powdery colorado snow. this has the layer of ice that's making it tough on the side streets, carol. >> sounds cold. jim spellman reporting live from denver, colorado, this morning. time to check our other top stories. chuck hagel could be confirmed as the next defense zret. this week, his nomination has been held up several weeks as some gop senators push the white house for more answers on the september 11th benghazi attack.

senate expected to vote tomorrow to end the gop filibuster or delaying tactic on the nomination. the afghan government wants u.s. special forces out of a province west of kabul within two weeks. it accuses member of the american elite military unit of torturing and killing innocent people. the u.s. military says it is investigating these accusations. former white house press secretary robert gibbs says he was told not to discuss or even to acknowledge the controversial drone program when he became the obama administration's chief spokesperson. here's what he told msnbc. >> i think in many ways what the president has seen. i think what the president has seen is our denial of the existence of the program, when it's obviously happening, undermines the people's confidence overall in the decisions their government makes.

>> the administration did not formally acknowledge the program that's terrorized countries like pakistan and yemen until last april. everyone in the entertainment world and, of course, outside the entertainment world are talking about argo today. the surprise was not that the film won three, including best picture, it was the music celebrating the movies. here's nischelle turner with the highlights. the oscars definitely had something for everyone. there was definitely music. there were some mishaps. there were lots of memorable moments. >> and now for the moment we have all been waiting for. >> first lady michelle obama gave the oscars a jolt of excitement and a huge surprise when she appeared from the white house to announce the night's biggest prize, best picture.

>> and the oscar goes to -- "argo." >> reporter: it was an especially sweet victory for ben affleck, who wasn't even nominated for directing the iranian hostage thriller. >> i think everyone in the movie, op the movie, worked on the movie, did anything with this movie. >> reporter: life of pi, based on the best-selling novel about a boy adrift at sea with a tiger, won the most oscars, four, including best director for ang lee. >> thank you, academy. namaste. >> reporter: he played one of the greatest presidents in history, and "lincoln's" actor daniel day lewis, had a first of his own. winning three oscars. >> i'm so grateful. >> reporter: she took a tumble heading to the stage, but everyone else was on their feet when "silver linings playbook" jennifer lawrence won for best actress. >> you guys are standing up because you feel bad i fell, and that's really embarrassing. >> reporter: host seth macfarlane struck a cheeky tone from the beginning, skewering

stars and poking fun at himself during a visit from captain kirk. >> seth macfarlane, worst oscar host ever. it's that bad? >> reporter: music was the theme of the night. and the show boasted full throated performances from the cast of "chicago," "dream girls," and "les miserables." ♪ >> reporter: and music was a part of the 150th anniversary tribute to james bond. shirley bassey got a standing ovation after belting out "goldfinger." while chart topper adele sang the latest 007 theme "skyfall" which won the best oscar for best song. barbra streisand returned to the oscar stage to sings kwangmyongsong memories," and indeed the night's biggest winner remembered his last time earning oscar gold. >> i was here 15 years ago or something, and i went out and never thought that i would be back here. and i am. >> it doesn't matter how you get

knocked down in life because that's going to happen. all that matters is that you got to get up. >> reporter: pretty good night for oscar host seth macfarlane, seeing mixed reviews this morning. a lot of people saying they felt he was even better than billy crystal last year, but there were also some people that felt he landed on the sexist side, and i think that's because of that song that everyone will be talking about today. carol, back to you. >> she means the boob song. we're going to talk more about that a little later on in the news room. the daytona 500 race is on. even as seven people lie in a hospital, injured by flying car parts and saturday's huge horrific crash. now new questions about what can be done to protect fans. and i have a massive heart attack right in my driveway. the doctor put me on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go talk to your doctor. you're not indestructible anymore.

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yet well within your means. find your away. for a dealer and the rv that's right for you, visit gorving.com. 17 minutes past the hour. time to check the top stories. as pope benedict plans to retire on sunday, cnn has learned he's accepted the resignation of scotland's archbishop. cardinal keith o'brien accused of abusing four men studying to be priests. the allegations date back 30 years. we're told o'brien is contesting the claims. he's now seeking legal advice.

also this morning, police in vegas still searching for amar harris. he's the one wanted in connection with thursday's shooting and fiery crash that killed three people on the las vegas strip. police say an aspiring rapper was shot as he drove along the vegas strip. his car crashed into a taxi, causing an sploex. the rapper, the cab driver, and a passenger in the taxi all killed. lawyers for oil giant bp and the federal government getting ready to battle it out. the trial gets under way as bp tries to limit the civilian penalties it must pay out for the worst oil spill in u.s. history. the outcome could mean the difference of billions of dollars. let's go to daytona beach, florida, where racing history is made and the future safety of the sport is under serious review. first the checkered flag. jimmie johnson fought back a crowded field and captured a thrilling win at the daytona 500. it's the second time he's landed in victory lane here. in the meantime, danica patrick

finishes eighth, but she's getting her own time in the spotlight. it's the highest finish for a female driver in the history of the race. but much of sunday's focus was overshadowed by this spectacular crash the day before. we're going to see it in just a minute. we're having tape problems. i'm sure you've seen it. there it is. at least 28 fans were wounded by flying debris when a car went airborne and slammed into a safety fence. today there are questions whether more needs to be done to protect the crowds because two fans are still in the hospital in serious condition. let's turn to someone who knows the race world from the inside out. lars anderson is the main motor sports writer for "sports illustra illustrated." he joins us via skype from orlando. good morning, lars. >> good morning. >> let's start with the cover. you wrote that nascar and its television partner espn did a poor job of handling this accident. tell us why. >> i just thought, given the fact this is the most

significant crash in the had is triof the nationwide series, that we certainly deserve to -- viewers deserve to see the crash itself more than just one replay, and i'm not talking about showing the carnage of the fans, but just trying to get an analysis of what happened in that crash. i think viewers deserve more than that. >> i actually think viewers deserved also to see the carnage in the stands so they could know exactly how serious this was. >> yeah, i talked to a bunch of fans who were sitting right there, and i talked to them about 18 hours after the incident, and they were still visibly shaking. one fan showed me -- he was shooting video of it, and his hands were trembling as he was showing me the video. but that fan also told me that he planned on going back and sitting there for the daytona 500. still like you said, that crash -- more fans were injured in that crash than any in the history of nascar, as far as i

can tell from my research, and i know that nascar is going to have structural engineers come and look at the fence and analyze what could have happened. but really, a fan assumes risk when they go to a nascar race, and especially when they sit so close to the fence. >> fans do assume a risk, but nascar also has the responsibility to protect the people coming to their race. it's not like this hasn't happened before. 2009, a last lap crash at talladega sent carl edwards into a catch fence. in that wreck, eight people were injured. is it time -- you got into this a little bit. the structure of that fence should be examined, but also this most recent accident happened when one car cut off a faster car to block it from winning. that's what caused the whole thing. maybe that needs to be eliminated from the race as well. >> no, exactly. i talked to a bunch of people in the garage this weekend. that is one thing that nascar should look at, especially in the last restrictor plate races,

where because of restrictor plates that are placed in the carburetors that keep all the speeds at 195 miles an hour. so that causes all the cars to travel in tight packs. so when there's a car coming, a faster car coming, it's these blocks that are causing these massive last lap wrecks. if nascar really wants to legislate against this, they should suspend a driver for a week or two or three if he does, in fact, block something like that. i think that is something that nascar will examine here in the near future. >> i just think it must because it's easy to say, oh, the fans go to the race. they're at their own risk. they choose to sit there. what if someone died, and someone could have died on saturday. >> absolutely. what's really scary is the catch fence actually did its job for the most part. it kept the vehicle out of going into the stands. hu the rarity here where a tire flew over into the stands. if that tire -- if the tire got

wedged in a seat, but if the tire had kept on bouncing, there's no telling how many people could have been injured or even killed. nascar is quite lucky that no one lost their life on saturday. >> lars anderson from "sports illustrated." thanks so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> talk back question today. did seth macfarlane hit or miss at the oscars. facebook.com/carolcnn. how we get there is not. we're americans. we work. we plan. ameriprise advisors can help you like they've helped millions of others. to help you retire your way, with confidence. ♪ that's what ameriprise financial does. that's what they can do with you. let's get to work. ameriprise financial. more within reach. let's get to work. oh, hi thehey!ill. are you in town for another meeting? p, i brought my a-team. vo: business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe! hi there!

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now is your chance to talk back on one of the stories of the day. did seth macfarlane hit or miss at the oscars? the reviews are in, and some are not kind. listen, 1 billion people are throwing up. but then again, even in the moment, macfarlane expected it. >> this a newspaper headline from tomorrow morning. >> seth macfarlane, worst oscar host ever. is that bad? >> uh-huh. >> is only captain kirk had beamed down, maybe he would have

commanded macfarlane not to sing the boob song backed up by the l.a. gay male choir. ♪ in the movie that we saw, we saw your boobs ♪ ♪ kristen stewart we saw your boobs in on the road ♪ ? monster we saw charlize theron's ♪ ♪ helen hunt we saw them in sessions ♪ ♪ and scarlet johansson we saw them on our phones ♪ >> abc's view was to attract more viewers who were not remotely interested in broadway-esque show numbers. but we heard jokes about boobs and blim ya. seth macfarlane can dazzle, but his jokes left to be edgy, left one critic crying, "hour hours of unfunny." >> the actor who really got inside lincoln's head was john wilks booth. 150 years, and it's still too

soon, huh? i've got some napoleon jokes coming up. >> maybe oscar should figure out what it wants to be before choosing its next show. does it want to be an awards show, comedy, variety, classy, edgy? for god's sake choose something. then maybe a talented guy like seth macfarlane can be himself. talk back question for you, did seth macfarlane hit or miss at the oscars? facebook.com/carolcnn. [ male announcer ] this is bob,

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operates a crude oil refinery. hoping the new android tablet catches on after the failure of the touch pad. hp's slate tablet will be around $169. it will be released in april. police say a driver near houston lost control on a curve, hit a house, went airborne, and then landed upside down on the roof of another home. wacky. fuel leaked into the house. a crane operator was called in to remove the car. amazingly, no one in the car or the home was seriously hurt. a blizzard is crippling the plains right now. these are new pictures near amarillo, texas, of near whiteout conditions. conditions are so poor here, roads are impassable, and emergency crews having a tough time getting to the scene of several crashes. flights in or out of amarillo airport cancelled.

political buzz, your rapid fire look at top stories of the day. playing today, cnn contributor and writer l.z. granderson, and cnn contributor and analyst for the blaze will cain. good morning, gentlemen. first up, by now, you're all too familiar with how the story goes. a financial disaster looms. congress and the white house play the blame game. and then at the very last minute a deal miraculously gets done. and with just four days until those forced spendsing cuts, you know sequestration, president obama and the returning congress find themselves right back in that same spot in that old story. the white house is telling states how those forced spending cuts will affect them, reducing money for everything from cop salaries to funding for hiv test and early childhood education. here's how delaware's governor summed up the impact. >> the most frustrating conversation any governor can have these days is when we talk to a business who says, i'd love to hire, but i can't find people

with the right skills. so we have resourced available for job training, and if those resources get cut, it really puts -- it stops the recovery in its tracks. that's not what we should be doing. >> despite the pressure, people in the nation's capital continue to drag their feet. governor, they say, don't worry. our question, though, is brinksmanship standard operating procedure in washington now? l.z.? >> yes, for any sort of emergency that's created by them. i think they're still smart enough to know there's an outside force that's creating the emergency that they'll operate. but if they're using this kind of drama for political tactics, then, yes, this is part of the normal day to day life of washington now. you've got to remember. they've had 18, 19 months. this didn't sneak up on them. they knew this day was coming. they kicked it down the road by a couple more months, but this was all created by them. this is the way they want to operate. yes, right now, for non-outside emergencies, this is the way it is. >> will?

>> they may have known this was coming for 18, 19 months, but here's why it hadn't mattered because they do this so often. about a month ago on the blaze, i charted how many times over the last two years we've had these do or die brinksmanship politics. i think i sent you an image that you can put up, which shows you since december of 2010, eight times. that's four times a year, almost once a quarter on average. look at these greatest hits. remember the fiscal cliff. how about the government shutdown in 2011? we do this over and over. we focus on the symptoms. look at the root cause. congress has not passed a budget in four years, carol. four years, no budget. we'll keep doing this. >> that's so mind boggling. >> the most transparent administration in american history? not so fast, president obama. your former press secretary says, when it comes to the issue of drones, some things were better left unsaid. >> one of the first things they told me was you're not even to acknowledge the drone program. you're not even to discuss that

it exists. i think in many ways the president has seen -- i haven't talked to him about this, but i want to be careful. the president has seen our denial of the existence of the program, when it's obviously happening, undermines people's confidence overall in the decisions that their government makes. >> oh, you're kidding. here's our question. why all the secrecy about drones? >> pure and simple, it's about accountability. both domestic, democratically and internationally. we're having conversations now about when americans can use drones to execute other americans. here's another one. accountability on the international stage. this will proliferate and proliferate quickly. it will raise questions about geographic boundaries. what if someone puts drones in areas we don't want them, china, whatever it may be. we don't want to have the conversations because we don't want to be accountable for the

rules we're setting right now. >> l.z.? >> well, it's spot on. the fact of the matter is that, if we were to have that much transparency about this particular program, we have to have a lot more discussion. and if you're discussing something and you think someone's creating something that's going to harm americans, time becomes a factor. we just talked about the last question. i'm not really sure washington is going to have a long conversation about plotting to kill americans. so they're doing it on the low. they're doing it secretly because they feel like it has to be done, and they don't want to have a discussion, which is not the way democracy is supposed to work. >> final question. michelle obama, our first lady, champion of children's health and oscar presenter? >> and now for the moment we've all been waiting for. and the oscar goes to -- "argo." congratulations. >> i love that dress. a surprise appearance that's drawing cheers and some jeers

from people who think the nation's first lady could be doing something more important with her time. in fact, some say the first lady's turn in the hollywood spotlight is eerily reminiscent of a stunt featuring a beloved character from the 1970s hit show "happy days," and that would be the fonz for those who do not know. michelle obama has been everywhere. she's doing the mom dance. did michelle obama jump the shark at the oscars? is it too much? >> no. i don't know who's so upset about this. it's 12:00 at night. what else do you think she's going to be doing at 12:00 at night? >> sleeping? >> i think this conversation is absolutely ridiculous. we've got to remember laura bush also was present at the oscars back in 2002. that was the year halle berry and denzel washington both won lead actor and actresses. first time african-americans have done that in oscar history. that's the reason why i remember it. so, no, it hasn't -- she hasn't jumped the shark. it's a silly conversation. >> will? >> let me -- okay, let me just offer you this.

it's not worth a red card, that's for sure. it's worth a little warning, a yellow card. it's not about michelle obama's time, whether or not it's better spent somewhere else. isn't it a little uncomfortable when we mix up politics and entertainment in hollywood so blatantly? we accept the fact that it's essentially a voluntary propaganda wing, that it's left leaning, but when it's officially tied together, it's a little bothersome. by the way, the state department funded one of the nominees this year, a short film. i think we need to keep these two worlds separate. >> thanks for playing today. some of the best and worst dressed stars captured the spotlight on the red carpet. we'll show you some oscar fashion hits and misses. you're. transit fares! as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect each year. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles. or the 900 million health insurance claims we process. so, it's no surprise to you

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eating less is a beautiful thing. most of those gorgeous oscar gowns are likely heading back to the designers today after many

were verbally ripped apart by critics. topping the fashionistas of best in show. jennifer lawrence in her beautiful gown and jennifer hudson also got kudos for her gown. let's talk about helen hunt. a simple navy dress from h&m along with $700,000 worth of jewelry. michael musto is live in new york to talk about more than just fashion, but that's where we want to start because honestly it's my favorite part of the oscars, the fashions. good morning. >> there was all too much silver glitter. it's like there was a sale on tin foil. tan mom could have run through the audience like this. >> you should know glitter is in this year, michael. >> i know, but less is more. >> less is more, true. you had four fafs. let's go over them. the first is what? >> jennifer lawrence looked absolutely beautiful. of course, she tripped on her

flowing, billowy white gown on the way to the stage. that's the price of fashion. it's not pretty. you have to suffer to look beautiful. jessica chastain also looked gorgeous. she went for an old school, hollywood glamour look. minimal is in. not a lot of silver there. i didn't see any bling. she looked ravenishing. charlize theron is a glamazon. she looked amazing. she has a pixie haircut because she's doing like a mad max film. she is very tall, like three kres ten chenoweth's. but she pulled it off. and also a little xena warrior queen, but in a good way. >> let's go on to some of the worst, which is always kind of mean to me. usually, they're the most interesting. it's easy to look beautiful, right? >> exactly. it takes a lot of courage to look bad. it costs a lot of money to look cheap. i would say naomi watts was a

mistake. she was nominated for "the impossible." that outfit was the impossible. she looked like she'd been hit by a tsunami. >> i loved that. >> i almost loved. the almost is the key word. it was bad. amy adams, i thought, looked like she was molting. she looked like a rag picker. jennifer garner looked like barney the dinosaur with that purple outfit and the ruffles in the back. caring means sharing, but don't ever share that one again, jennifer. meryl streep can do no strong except for that outfit. it was a glittery gunnysack. granny goes disco. granny went grocery shopping, and now she's going to studio 54. she kept hiking it in the back. what was she doing back there? i don't even want to know. >> she was trying not to trip like jennifer lawrence. >> the worst was kristen stewart. that dress looked like it had

elephantitis. it was lumpy. it kd loo like the cross between cauliflower casserole and a furniture showroom. >> i want to get your take on how seth macfarlane did. i didn't love him. >> i thought it was funny. two years ago was the legendary anne hathaway, james franco year. not just the worst oscars, the worst anything in history. i thought he was funny. he laughed a little at his own jokes too much. he went for edgy stuff, like the boob material. not just a cruise ship to the cast skills. and he made tommy lee jones laugh. >> he didn't make him laugh with a joke, though. he said my goal is to make tommy lee jones laugh, and he laughed. >> you try it. that's one pickle pus. he makes renee zellweger look happy. i thought michelle obama did a

great appearance. not in that dress, though. i thought it was a larger version of meryl's dress minus the glitter. to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? and with all the points i've been earning, i was able to get us a flight to our favorite climbing spot even on a holiday weekend. ♪ things are definitely looking up. [ male announcer ] with no blackout dates, you can use your citi thankyou points to travel whenever you want. visit citi.com/thankyoucards to apply. omnipotent of opportunity. you know how to mix business... with business. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this.

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"the wall street journal" reporting that barnes and noble may soon part ways with its e-reader, the nook. alison kosik live at the new york stock exchange with a possible buyout. >> this deal would involve

splitting barnes and noble idea a way to keep the bookstore open. so the chairman and founder currently owns 30% of barnes & noble. now he wants to buy back the brick and mortar. now, talks of all this began last year. right now the physical bookstores, they still actually, believe it or not, make more money and do more in annual sales than the nook. the stores took in almost $5 billion in sales last year. the nook took in less than $1 billion. we'll see if this happens. if it does happen, if it's enough to save barnes & noble. question, did seth macfarlane hit or miss at the oscars? [ male announcer ] whetr it's mom's smartphone... dad's tablet... lauren's smartphone...

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"talk back" question today, did seth macfarlane hit or miss at the oscars? "he did great! he put new life into the oscars. i watch every year and it was getting dry and boring. ." "anything that is demeaning to a race, gender or otherwise is bad enough, but in a public forum is extremely distasteful." "he did a fine job, but too many stuffy, up tight people who need to loosen up more." "captain kirk did get it right.

seth was the worst oscar host ever!" facebook or tweet me @carolcnn. how much would you pay for a professional athlete's socks? curt schilling's famous bloody sock from the 2004 world series, oh, did it fetch a pretty penny.

all eyes were on one driver at the daytona 500, and you guessed who that driver was. it would be danica patrick. she went toe to toe with the men

at the nascar's biggest race. joe carter's here with more in today's "bleacher report." >> reporter: good morning from daytona. yeah, danica's memorable day started right from the beginning when she walked out for driver introductions, and this crowd gave her a giant roar. and then the grand marshal, actor james franco, gave her a really flattering nod when he made a special announcement to officially start the race. >> drivers and danica, start your engines! >> reporte >> reporter: all right. that really set the tone for the day. danica made history from start to finish. she's the first woman to start front row in the daytona 500, the first woman to lead a lap in this race. she actually head five in all. and she's the first woman to finish in the top ten. she finished eighth. >> nice job, tony. >> great job. great job. who says girls can't do this crap?

>> it's a little bit maybe more calm driving around here than in indy car. i guess maybe at least on your own anyway, especially in the lead. i guess i had a little more time to look around and see the people. >>. >> reporter: what she saw was jimmie johnson making a late-race charge to the front row. he took home the checkered flag to win his second daytona 500. the five-time sprint cup champion adds another piece to an already legendary racing career. mixed martial arts fighter rhonda rousey rocked the house by winning the first women's match in ufc history. rousey defeated liz carmouche late in the first round. the fight is said to be the highest-rated pay-per-view in history beating out ali and frazier's daughters. the famous bloody sock worn by curt schilling in the world series was sold saturday during

a live auction in new york. it went for more than $92,000. schilling put it up for sale after his video game company he started went bankruptcy last year. he lost millions of dollars, and his baseball earnings in the video game company investment. manti te'o had explaining to do at the nfl combine. te'o has been going through meetings where he was asked about that now infamous fake girlfriend hoax. he also had to face the media and field questions mainly focusing on the internet hoax itself. a big part of the nfl combine is testing players' mental aptitude and character, not just their physical abilities. manti te'o met with 20 teams over the weekend. he's going to meet with those same 20 teams today when he'll work out on the field. check out bleacherreport.com to find out more about that. carol, what an historic weekend here at the daytona 500. we saw history in the making for danica patrick and jimmie johnson crowned quite the champion. >> you're not kidding. it was a great race. thanks so much. next hour of "cnn newsroom" begins right now.

happening now in the "newsroom," congress returns after a week off and facing a friday deadline. their mission? compromise. if they fail, forced spending cuts impacting everything from unemployment checks to pre-k, even airports. >> flights to major cities could experience delays of up to 90 minutes. blizzard warnings are in effect throughout the plains as another powerful winter storm is already causing headaches as it moves east. yahoo!'s new ceo taking a bold step. she tells workers no more working from home. you've got to come to work. ♪ yahoo! you're live in the "cnn newsroom." and go aheod monday morning to . i'm carol costello. congress returns to session today, but hopes of avoiding

forced spending cuts or sequestration fading fast as the friday deadline looms. the blame game ratchets up. the white house says blame the republicans. and it's showing how the cuts will affect millions of americans in a breakdown. and republicans are firing back. this hour three gop congressmen are in norfolk, virginia, warning that cuts in defense spending will hit the region hard, as in lost jobs. they're beating president obama to the punch. he visits there tomorrow. here's the white house message in a nutshell. americans will feel the pain of these $85 billion in forced spending cuts as part of their everyday lives. unemployment benefits, preschool programs, national parks, heck, even the nation's airports could feel the pinch. >> flights to major cities like new york, chicago and san francisco and others could experience delays of up to 90 minutes during peak hours because we have fewer controllers on staff.

delays in these major airports will ripple across the country. >> cnn's chief congressional correspondent, dana bash, is on capitol hill to break it all down for us. so dana, are these just scare tactics, or should we all be bracing for real impact? >> reporter: i think probably to be fair, it would be a combination of both. i think that there is going to be a real impact, like you said. the transportation secretary isn't making things up. there are going to be some cuts. and it will result in some pain that everyday, average americans will feel if they're going to go to the airport. at the same time, you definitely hear republicans saying, you know, give me a break. the white house does have the potential to do something to change this. and that's actually the kind of legislation, the proposal you're going to see this week in the senate from republicans. what they're going to say is instead of replacing the dollar amounts or changing the dollar amounts, and even the specifics, they're going to put forward legislation to give the white

house more flexibility in how and what they cut. so it isn't necessarily across the board. they could say, for example, border patrol agents or food inspectors, they can stay in place. nothing will be affected. and perhaps put cuts in place other places. >> okay. so what should we expect? should we expect lawmakers to get together with some kind of deal or a temporary deal like on friday, just to make it more dramatic? >> reporter: that's the way -- i mean, how many times have you and i been talking on the eve of a deadline with hours to a deadline, and then suddenly, poof, they have a deal? i don't see it happening this time. i really don't, carol. and primarily because that's there's no conversation. and as far as we know, not even a back-channel conversation going on. and more importantly, to have that kind of deal, you need to involve the republican house speaker, john boehner. and he has not been talking to the president. he has not talked to him since thursday. and before that they hadn't spoken since a couple days after christmas. so right now i think you see

both sides really digging in with their political points. democrats saying we're not going to do anything unless it includes increases in taxes, and republicans saying huh-uh, we're going to have to replace these spending cuts with different spending cuts. >> dana bash reporting live from capitol hill this morning. roughly 650,000 federal employees may be affected by friday's forced spending cuts deadline. in about ten minutes i'll talk with the man who represents those federal workers. also this morning, there are new ripples of a sex scandal jolting the vatican in the final days of pope benedict's rule. this morning the vatican says the pope has accepted the resignation of scotland's archbishop. cardinal keith o'brien has been dogged by accusations that he abused four men back in the 1980s. all of those men studying to become priests. the news came as pope benedict delivered his final public prayer ceremony. announced speculation that a scandal might have affected the first papal resignation in 600 years. here's cnn's becky anderson.

>> reporter: carol, bombshell at the very top of the roman catholic church. the vatican announcing today that the pope has accepted the resignation of cardinal keith o'brien. this is a man who will be 75 next month who he says had decided to stand down in november. but the resignation has now been brought forward. and the timing -- well, you couldn't make this up, could you, just three days away from the pope's resignation. we hear the conclave will be mid-march, possibly before march the 15th. we won't know that until march the 1st. but this was a man who was eligible to vote at that conclave, at the election of the new pope. whether he will do that is yet to be determined. carol? and take a look at this. new pictures shot outside the national weather service in amarillo, texas, near whiteout conditions there causing flights

in and out of amarillo's national airport to be canceled. as you might expect, several highway accidents reported. this is what it looks like this morning in denver as colorado digs out from almost a foot of snow in some places. looks bright and sunny there now, but people there will be seeing temperatures drop into the single digits. brace yourself. more change is coming to the internet search giant yahoo!. employees who work at home will now have to come into the office or quit. alison kosik is live at the new york stock exchange. wow! >> reporter: surprise. it's no secret, though, carol yahoo! needs serious changes. sometimes the best way to change things is in the internal culture. it sends a signal inside and out that things will be different now and that the old way is not going to fly anymore. now guess what? an internal memo is all over the internet. it originally was linked to all things "d." it says communication and

collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side by side. that is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. yes, there's a down side, of course. people will probably quit. but at this point, yahoo! needs to cut costs, so it may not mind seeing unproductive employees give themselves the pink slip. but there's a lot of harsh, negative response on twitter from these yahoo! employees, and there are sympathizers. marissa mayer has taken a lot of criticism from feminism going backward. this coming from the woman who took two weeks of maternity leave, carol. the bar is pretty high for her. this certainly is causing a lot of chatter online. >> alison kosik live from the new york stock exchange. bp and the federal government in court right now for a big showdown and billions of dollars are on the line for those affected by the worst oil

disaster in u.s. history. oh, hi thehey!ill. are you in town for another meeting? p, i brought my a-team. vo: business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe! hi there! vo: earn a ton of extra points with the double your hhonors promotion and feel the hamptonality.

our new "talk back" just about 20 minutes away.

discussing three hot stories making headlines. one of the topics, michelle obama's surprise appearance at the oscars. >> and now for the moment we have all been waiting for. and the oscar goes to -- "argo." congratulations. >> some people didn't really appreciate that. "talk back." did michelle obama jump the shark at the oscars? facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me @carolcnn.

thyou eat less...ing weiyou lose weight.et. it's a great plan... until you get hungry. that's the time to take slimful. one tasty 90-calorie slimful and a glass of water satisfies hunger for hours making it easier to eat smaller meals, and resist snacking. your friends might think you found the secret to losing weight. but it's no secret... it's slimful. eating less is a beautiful thing. with just four days away until those forced spending cuts kick in, taking away roughly $85

billion from federal agencies over the next several months, and that could mean forced furloughs, close national parks and less airport security. j. david cotts is the president of the american federation of government employees, and he joins us from orlando. good morning. >> good morning, carol. how are you today? >> i am good. if these forced spending cuts go into effect or sequestration, how will it affect federal workers? >> number one, it would affect federal employees by requiring them to take from one to two days off each pay period that would be unpaid furloughed leave. this would be devastating to those employees and their families, but also be devastating to the services that they provide for the american public. >> this could affect 650,000 federal employees. and when you talk about, you know, individuals, they'll -- and these are unpaid days off, right? they don't get paid, right? >> that's correct, carol. >> so how will it affect everyone else? >> well, the screeners at the airports, each day if 20% of

them do not go to work, and that's what it would equate to, approximately 20% of those employees not going to work, that backs up the screening process to get onto the airplanes. 20% of the air traffic controllers would not be there for the landings, the takeoffs and to manage the planes in the air. 20% of the people wouldn't be in social security offices to process social security claims and medicare claims for those that are turning 65 or older that want their claims processed or disabled. the list would go on and on. >> it makes me wonder why you would want to work for the federal government because you sort of become a pawn in this political game that's being played out in washington. >> people that work for the federal government, they wanted to be civil servants. they want to care for the american public. they want to perform these services. and let me make it very, very clear, federal employees want to

go to work every day and do their job. they're border patrol agents. they want to have a secure border. they're correctional officers in the bureau of prisons. they want to have those people behind bars protecting the american public. these folks want to work. it's very, very unfair what's happening with the sequestration. it's a madness. it's a fabricated hoax, basically, in my opinion, that needs to be stopped. congress needs to return to washington, pass a budget, and move this country forward. >> and i must say, on the other hand, there's a good number of people in this country who also think that the government's too fat and we've hired too many federal workers, and maybe sequestration would be a good thing because maybe this is the time to trim because then we'll all know. >> the issue with federal employees, most federal employees throughout the country take home an average pay of $500

a week. these are not fat cats making a great deal of money. what happens many times, if there are not federal employees there to do that work, the government contracts out the work and pays a much larger price. they're the beltway contractors that i refer to them as, they build into their contracts $700,000 a year for the salary for their top contractors, and that's their top five contractors. and then after that, there is no limit how much the government can reimburse them for other employees. so let's be real. we're talking about federal employees that make $50,000 a year doing work and contractors that make $700,000 a year. the government could stop a lot of its service contracting, let the work be done by federal employees, save the tax dollars, an enormous amount of money, and have better service to the american public.

>> mr. cox, thank you for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you so much, carol. all eyes on hollywood sunday. and all of hollywood's eyes were on seth macfarlane. so did the first-time host deliver a winning performance or go home a loser? sterone. there, i said it. how did i know? well, i didn't really. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody... that's when i had an honest conversation with my doctor. we discussed all the symptoms... then he gave me some blood tests. showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number -- not just me. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% (testosterone gel). the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy, increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman, which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne,

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19 minutes past the hour. time to check our top stories. an army of lawyers for oil giant bp and the federal government battling it out today. trial got under way last hour in new orleans as bp tries to limit the civilian penalties, the civil penalties, it must pay out for the worst oil spill in u.s. history. the outcome could mean the difference in billions of dollars. police in las vegas still searching for amar harris wanted in connection with thursday's shooting and fiery crash that killed three people. police say an aspiring rapper was shot as he drove along the vegas strip. his car crashed into a taxi

causing an explosion. the rapper, the cab driver and a passenger in the car all killed. secretary of state john kerry in london right now as part of his first international trip as america's top diplomat. today kerry met with british prime minister david cameron as he introduces himself to some of the main allies of the united states. kerry is visiting nine countries as part of the 11-day trip. his next stop, germany. well, here's something you don't see every day. police say a driver near houston lost control on a curve. he hit a house, went airborne, and landed upside down on the roof of a home. fuel leaked into the house. a crane operator had to be called in to remove the car. amazingly, no one in the car or in the homes were hurt. oh, hi there bill. hey! are you in town for another meeting? p, i brought my a-team. vo: business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe! hi there! vo: earn a ton of extra points with the double your hhonors promotion and feel the hamptonality.

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vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. (blowing sound) ask your doctor about spiriva. of course there were winners and losers at the oscars, and that includes some of the jokes by first-time host, seth macfarlane. >> the actor who really got inside lincoln's head was john wilkes booth. really, 150 years and it's still too soon, huh? i've got some napoleon jokes

coming up, you guys are going to be so mad. oh, my god. >> it's too early for me. "showbiz tonight's" a.j. hammer joins us now, the creator of "family guy," he's getting mixed reviews. some of the reviews are quite -- well, they're not very nice. >> yeah. no, pretty biting. and it's a tough gig, one of the toughest in all of show business, carol. but when you think about it, in the aftermath of the show, the host always gets mixed reviews in the press. i rember some years where according to some headlines billy crystal, the beloved billy crystal, was also being called a bad host. so you can take some of these with a grain of salt. >> tom shales tweeted, "i can hear the audience throwing up now." >> oh, no, i have even better ones from these reviews. "the daily beast" called seth's hosting juvenile and basically flat out said he bombed. there were others questioning if he was sexist or sensational. however, i did have to sift through quite a bit to find a couple of positive reviews including one from "the hollywood reporter," very well

respected magazine. and they were on his side saying that he wins at oscar hosting against the odds. everybody's got an opinion. when the audience is as large as it is for the oscars, you obviously can't please everybody, carol. but, you know, i think he was tilting more towards the negative than positive. >> here's what i don't understand. abc supposedly was trying to attract more young male viewers to watch the oscars. personally, i don't think there's anything you can do to get more young male viewers to watch the oscars because number one, they're not remotely interested in fashion. they don't like broadwayesque performances, and this show was chockful of them, even though that one was about boobs. >> yeah. well, i think, you know, you take two steps forward and one step back in this situation. i really thought the efforts were going to counteract themselves here with the fact that they had all these musical numbers which sort of nullified whatever edge that seth macfarlane was bringing to the show. but i heard you make a great point earlier. you said shouldn't the oscars

first figure out what kind of a show they want to be so they can let a guy like seth macfarlane be himself? you know, the grammys finally figured themselves out after all these years and realized we are a straight-ahead, enter statement show. we're going to play music and just do that. but in fairness to seth, he did throw everything he had at this job from his trademark irreverent humor to the traditional song and dance. but, of course, that led to people calling his performance self-indulgent. and carol, there were quite a few suggestions out there this morning that he looked like he was auditioning for his own variety show. >> see, i thought he was amazingly talented at the singing and dancing. he has a beautiful voice. you know, if he had cohosted with that little bear, ted -- >> yeah. >> -- that would have been great. >> i'm sure ted could have done all the dirty stuff because that's who ted is. >> a.j. hammer, thanks so much. coming up next, our special "talk back," hot topics, hot conversation and your comments. first up, is brinksmanship

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welcome to our new half-hour show, "talk back." three hot topics, great guests, your comments. on tap today, is brinksmanship standard operating procedure in washington? go michelle obama jump the shark at the oscars? and will wwe magic work for immigration reform? cnn contributor and senior writer at espn, patricia murphy, contributor at "the daily beast," will kane, analyst for "the blaze" and our own dana bash, cnn's chief congressional correspondent. thanks to all of you for being with us today. first "talk back" question, is brinksmanship standard operating procedure in washington? by now you are all too familiar with owl the story goes.

the financial disaster looms. congress and the white house play the blame game. and then at the very last minute, a deal miraculously gets done. and with four days until those forced spending cuts, president obama and congress are right back in the same spot. that would be nowhere. today the white house is telling citizens of individual states how those forced spending cuts will affect them, reducing money for everything from cop salaries so funding for hiv tests and early childhood education. here's how the governor of delaware sums up the impact. >> the most frustrating conversation any governor can have these days is when we talk to a business who says, i'd love to hire, but i can't find people with the right skills. so we have resources available for job training. and if those resources get cut, it really puts -- you know, it stops the recovery in its tracks, and that's just not what we should be doing. >> but despite that kind of pressure, people in the nation's capital continue to drag their feet. so "talk back" today, is brinksmanship standard operating

procedure in washington now? and dana, i want to start with you because everybody that i know pretty much thinks at the very last minute, lawmakers will come up with a deal or a temporary deal, and all of this worry will be about nothing. what do you say? >> reporter: you know what? i think that that has been the standard operating procedure. we've watched it. we've breathed it. we've been living it for the past two years. it looks different this time. because at least the past during the fiscal cliff and other times when the government was going to shut down, you knew that there were talks going on. there are no talks going on that we know of, that we can detect. and part of the reason is because since the fiscal cliff deal at the end of the year, the house speaker has said that he's -- no more. i'm not going to do it anymore. in fact, he told me and a few other reporters that he feels like he got burned by having these negotiations with the president and then they collapsed, and he had to end up giving in the end. so this time, i just don't see it. >> okay. so if those forced spending cuts

go into effect, i mean, some people say that they'll be dire. other people say oh, don't even worry about it because the spending cuts will happen over time, and we won't really even feel them, and that will give congress time to get its act together. i mean, what is the real story, will kane? >> $44 million, what is it, something between 2% and 5% of the budget. is that dire that we think? i think that might be the number of reduction spending over the next year. when the increase was supposed to be 7%, honestly, i've got to tell you, the reason dana's not hearing talks, in my estimation, is because it's not that big a deal. we have to get our spending in order at some point. and the cost of paring back $44 billion right now are less than the ultimate cost of when our creditors come calling to force bigger spending cuts on us. >> things happen, for example, ray lahood came out and said there would be long delays through security lines.

air traffic controllers will have to take furloughs. 20% of the work force will be, you know, cut temporarily. and that will affect my life directly. so do i believe ray lahood? i'll say that, in light of what will is saying? l.z. >> sorry. i didn't hear my name. i get lost in all the disaster that's going to happen, the oscar haze. it's not so much the number. the number in and of itself is not that dire. that is correct. it's where those numbers are being hit that's the problem. that's the real reason why this is a big deal, in my opinion. if we were just talking about just taking it out of a general fund that wasn't designated, then you know what, over a ten-year period, we're not going to see it. in fact, i think the number works out to be 3 cents for every dollar that's being taken out because of this. but the problem is where that 3 cents was supposed to be spent. and it's going to hurt the middle class, and that's the reason why it's a big deal. i'm really frustrated that we've had 18, 19 months now to address

this issue. we keep kicking this can down the road. this is not the way to govern. this is not the way in which businesses and department leaders in the federal government can plan. and this is all going to hinder the economy and send us back into a recession. >> that's the thing, patricia. for me whether dire things will happen or not, it's just the fact that congress can't again, get it together, can't compromise, can't govern. that's really the real issue to me. >> that is the issue to me. it's the issue to 89% of americans who don't approve of the way this congress is handling its business or the way the last congress handled its business. and to me, congress is really going from dysfunctional to incompetent. they are not able to do the most basic facts of governing. and if you ask about, is brinksmanship the new standard operating procedure? i don't think so because brinksmanship suggests some kind of a strategy or some kind of a secret plan. there is no plan. this was created by congress and

the white house, by the way, everybody got on board. they all signed the suicide pact together. they came up with the worst scenario they could think of to force themselves to do something within 18 months, and they cannot do it. and to me, it is just nothing short muof pathetic. there's no other word for it. >> pathetic, that's a good word. go ahead. >> i've fallen in love with this picture that i've sent you guys. to illustrate patricia's point, i've got a picture that shows you how often we've dealt with this do-or-die politics dating back to december 2011. it's eight times. eight times we've had this story, once every couple months. and look, it's going to remain that way. we have to point this out. the senate democrats, dana can correct me if i'm wrong, haven't passed a budget in almost four years. we'll have these little skirmishes if we don't have the big debate about the budgeting. >> and dana's shaking her head yes. >> reporter: it's true that we're not having the big debate. in fact, i've asked the house speaker point black last week or two weeks ago, is this what

we're going to do, keep careening from crisis to crisis? when are we going to have those talks about tax reform or, you know, budget reform or entitlement reform? and it's on both sides. it just doesn't look possible. i think that is the reason why people out there should be frustrated. not so much about the sequester or the forced spending cuts, whether it's 4% or 5%. because i think it is true that when you look at the big picture, it's not that -- it's not that bad. but the bottom line is is that they are -- this is a little -- it is a strategy. it is a strategy particularly among republicans. they want to cut the federal budget. they want to cut spending. and that's why they are simply not gliving in on this. >> what do our viewers think? is brinksmanship standard operating procedure in washington? claudia, the bottom line: congress should not be taking time off. what did they give themselves a pay raise for: more down time?

i fear that these representatives have become so removed from allowing america to thrive that they are willing to let it all fall. so sad! facebook or tweet me @carolcnn. our next question, did michelle obama jump the shark at the oscars? when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have six grams of sugars. with fifteen grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. the battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation

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shark at the oscars? remember this? ♪ >> there he goes! ♪ who could forget? it's the now infamous moment of fonzie literally jumping the shark in an episode of "happy days." critics say it was a gimmick to get more attention. an editor at salon.com thinks the first lady is following in fonzie's footsteps by presenting the award for best picture at the oscars. >> and now for the moment we have all been waiting for. and the oscar goes to -- "argo." congratulations. >> it was the latest in a string of high-profile appearances this week, timed to the third anniversary of michelle obama's

let's move initiative. the obama administration recently praising the program, claiming that the national childhood obesity rate has leveled off as a result. now the first lady is celebrating that milestone meeting with big bird in the white house kitchen and showing off her dance moves with jimmy fallon. that's pretty funny. she even talked to rachael ray about those much-buzzed-about bangs. but with a 73% approval rating, higher than her hubby, his cabinet and, of course, congress, some say maybe the oscars aren't the best use of the first lady's time. instead of all those cameos, she might champion shgrittier political issues like the deficit, gun control or the pressing need for bipartisanship. "talk back." did she jump the shark at the oscars? l.z. >> no, of course not. she is the first lady. she represents, you know, the good and families. and if you listen to her speech, it was talking about children and encouraging children to reach for their dreams and not to be hindered by whatever

obstacles are in their way. i think anyone who is upset that the first lady was involved at the oscars, one, forget that laura bush was involved with the oscars in 2002. and then second, forgot the fact that she's not actually a politician. she's married to a politician. and as she said, it's the first mom. and i thought she was great. and she looked fantastic. >> but still, you know, some people are saying, imagine if michelle obama would reach out to mrs. boehner, let's say, patricia, and they had lunch together and they talked about their husbands. >> oh, nonsense. >> i don't know what would be more awkward, either michelle obama at the oscars via satellite or having lunch with mrs. boehner. i think neither one seems sort of normal. i really don't know what she was doing at the oscars. i think she's fabulous. i think she's great. i don't know, first of all, why she wasn't in l.a. to attend the oscars, if you're going to give an award, or why are you sort of there? i think all of her other initiatives, i think with jimmy

fallon was fabulous. it had everything to do with what she's working on. i do think childhood obesity is a huge problem. i just don't know why she was at the oscars. >> will, you were saying? >> nonsense about this stuff about her having better things to do with her time and meeting with mrs. boehner. come on. look, i have no personal criticism for the first lady on this issue. i do have some criticism for hollywood. and it gets a little tiresome for your politics to be mixed with your entertainment on such a consistent basis. nikki fink writes for deadline hollywood. she's a highly influential blogger. i have no idea what her politics are. said this was inappropriate. and she said it was hollywood telling half of america that their movies aren't made for them. >> that's ridiculous. that is -- i just -- i mean, she's the first lady of the whole country, not the democratic party. >> i agree. but the issue, then, isn't for her, but it's for hollywood. must we have politics shoved down our throat every time we go watch entertainment no matter what including the celebration of the awards for entertainment.

>> "lincoln." >> "lincoln" was a republican. >> "lincoln" was nominated for best picture. >> i watched the oscars the way they were meant with six girlfriends and maybe a little bit of champagne. i think that the oscars jumped the shark like four hours before michelle obama was even on tv. jumping the shark had nothing to do with michelle obama. it was as somebody who looks forward to watching the oscars, it was so sad. and i don't think it was seth macfarlane's fault. i just think the way it was produced, it was basically like, huh? >> like i said earlier, the oscars has to determine what kind of show it wants to be. is it a variety show? is it this classy show? what is it? i couldn't determine. and plus -- go ahead, dana. >> reporter: i was just going to say, and the one thing i want to say also i think about michelle obama is you mentioned her approval rating is in the 70s. i think it's in the 70s because she does things that are noncontroversial for the most part. she doesn't sit down and talk about the deficit or the budget or things that are going to make her less popular.

that's the reality. >> this is her second term, so she can be more of herself. maybe she can turn her attention to hard-hitting issues like gun control. why can't she go to chicago and talk about gun control? >> i don't think americans really want her first lady getting into issues like that. it blew up in hitry clinton's face until she was an actual represented official. so i don't think it's the right place for michelle obama. i want to agree with dana. i don't know what was going on with the oscars last night. but seth macfarlane to me was both boring and offensive at the same time. and that is hard to do. >> yeah. >> i myself -- >> i'm going to defend seth macfarlane. i am a huge seth macfarlane fan. i think he was one of the most talented guys on the stage the entire night. yes, his humor is edgy. if anyone has ever seen american dad or family guy, they knew what they were getting when they hired pim-i'm going to defend him. he brought the edge. i think we were shocked by his singing voice. i think he was comfortable on stage. and he looked pretty damn good, too.

>> that women are not edgy, they're just dumb. >> the boobs song was, come on. >> seth macfarlane's problem wasn't that he was offensive. what patricia said, largely it was kind of awkward and boring. >> that, too. our next "talk back" question, will the wwe, the world wrestling -- world wrestling, you know, big-time wrestling? will that magic work for immigration reform? oh! progress-oh! [ female announcer ] with 40 delicious progresso soups at 100 calories or less, there are plenty of reasons people are saying "progress-oh!" share your progress-oh! story on facebook. people are saying "progress-oh!" oh, hi thehey!ill. are you in town for another meeting? p, i brought my a-team. vo: business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe! hi there! vo: earn a ton of extra points with the double your hhonors promotion and feel the hamptonality.

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okay. our next "talk back" question.

it's really weird. will the wwe magic work for immigration? worldwide wrestling entertainment, or wwe, wildly popular world with characters like hacksaw, dr. death and road warrior hawk is now at the forefront of the immigration battle. seriously. two guys impersonating intolerant tea party members opposed to immigration are the latest to promote wwe's big fight between alberto del rio and a fighter named jack swagger. >> we believe that if you sneak across our borders and are in our country illegally, then you should leave. and if you don't want to leave, well, that's where jack and i come in. >> we will make you leave. >> okay. so this offended talk show host and tea party champion glenn beck. >> the wwe now has put a new character out that is demonizing the tea party.

you know, i can take it from a lot of people. i really can. i can't take it from the stupid wrestling people. especially since a lot of the people, i would imagine, that a lot of the people that watch wrestling are not new york elites. i personally think when wwe starts coming against the tea party, that's like nascar coming against the tea party. >> the wwe swung back, saying hey, glenn. did you know 20% of the wwe fans are hispanic? so just chill out. it's entertainment. >> many of your followers are wwe fans. and they understand the difference between reality and entertainment. are you out of touch with your audience, glenn, or are you just a stupid political commentator? >> you've got to admit, this is really weird. the wwe invited beck to appear on "monday night raw" for a

rebuttal, but according to "the hollywood reporter," beck declined. it seems he's busy. will the wwe magic work for immigration? and will, i'm going to direct this question to you because the reason the wwe is doing this, it wants to attract hispanic viewers. so it's embracing the issue of immigration. and it actually meant that to be sort of pro-immigration, maybe, although it says it's not making a political statement. >> right. and i work at "the blaze" which is owned by glenn beck. i'll say this. i don't know what magic we're necessarily talking about here. what wwe magic is going to work for immigration. in our last segment, you asked us about hollywood. we talked about hollywood and whether or not politics and hollywood are a good mix. your character just said that these people can understand the difference between entertainment and politics. but the issue is, can they discern the difference between bad entertainment? see, here's the deal. when politics is mixed with entertainment, it's most effective whenni it's subversiv.

take "john q." now you've got wwe associating racism with the constitution and with the bill of rights. now, i would suggest to you what your mistake here, you have created very, very bad entertainment. i suspect your audience is going to know that. >> well, the wwe says, come on. this is all a joke. i think what glenn beck was most upset about is it portrayed the tea party in kind of a racist way, right? l.z.? >> well, you know, it's funny, you know, the last segment we were talking about jumping the shark. and i'm looking at glenn beck getting ready to do just that. i cannot believe this is the argument that he's picking up right now. i mean, are you serious? i didn't even know wrestling was still going on. it doesn't make any sense to me to get this passionate about this particular discussion. and i've got one bone to pick with will real quick. "john q" is a hero for a lot of people. i can tell you right now, there are a lot of men who look at john q, and they say, i'm going to protect my kids the way

denzel did in "john q." so don't go ripping on movies you don't know the full nuances on. >> one of the worst ever. >> carol, it makes complete sense that glenn beck is talking about this because he's talking about it. now we're talking about it. he knows how to gin up his base, the grass roots. and look, i mean, the bottom line is that tea party supporters need some ginning up right now. and if the world wrestling entertainment is going to do it, it's going to do it. but i also think we have to remember what the "e" does stand for, entertainment. come on, nobody thinks that what they're doing is anything beyond what it is. it is what it is. i mean, this is the perfect example of it is what it is, right? >> i was just kind of surprised, patricia, that they chose immigration and chose to even joke about that. i just thought it was strange. the whole thing is kind of weird to me. >> yeah, immigration doesn't strike me as ratings gold. i don't know why. they're going there. but i do think we are in kind of a new dawn for the topic of

immigration. not just because i know nothing about wrestling, by the way. i'm relieved to say i don't know who those people are or what they're doing. for immigration, we do have republicans starting to not just -- they're not watching their televisions. they're doing the math. they watched the last election. you cannot lose the fastest growing segment of a population by nearly 50 points and win a national election. so i don't think immigration means wwe to get involved to move this conversation forward. i think it's just simple math is moving forward. i do think we'll see some action on it. >> we're being a little light on the wwe here because the last letter in their acronym is "entertainment." they're painting tea partiers, even those painting themselves with allegiance as racist. even though it's enter thames, we're going, no biggie. i can't imagine we'd do that with all other forms of entertainment. >> you need to talk to republican brethren because it's the republicans who own the wwe, and it was their idea to do this

in the first place. this isn't a liberal creation. >> da mcmahon spent $100 million of her own money. maybe she's trying to win some of that back. >> i wish we could continue. thanks so much for playing with me today. your responses to that question, will the wwe magic work with immigration? this from storm. this feud with alberto del rio and jack swagger is nothing more than art mimicking life. glenn beck needs to take a chill pill because it's only entertainment. i'm sure glenn beck has no problem making fun of anyone who doesn't share his ideas. he'll get over it. keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me @carolcnn. what's this? uhh, it's my geico insurance id card, sir. it's digital, uh, pretty cool right? maybe. you know why i pulled you over today? because i'm a pig driving a convertible?

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